Created in 1964, Inserm is a public institution with a scientific and technical vocation, under the dual auspices of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.

Inserm is the only French public research body entirely dedicated to human health. Its researchers are committed to studying all diseases, whether common or rare, through their research in the fields of biology, medicine and public health.

Inserm's principal mission is to facilitate exchange between :

- Basic research, designed to shed light on the unknown, without any specific objective;

- Clinical research, conducted in patients;

- Therapeutic or diagnostic research, the purpose of which is to study diseases;

- Public health research, aimed at gaining a better understanding of health mechanisms, notably through the study of particular population groups.

In order to fulfill this mission, the Institute has worked in close partnership with other public or private research institutions and care centers such as. hospitals from the outset. Today, 80% of Inserm's 316 research laboratories are housed within university hospital or cancer treatment centers, the others being located on research campuses of the CNRS (French scientific research institute) or of the Pasteur and Curie Institutes.

13,000 people (including 6000 researchers) work in Inserm's 316 research units located all over France.